Friday, January 05, 2007 Senate body backs wage increase proposal
* Business sector maintains opposition * Congressman prod senators to pass legislated salary increase bill
IN THE light of the urgency of enacting a measure that would provide Filipino workers with a living wage "rightfully due them", Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Ejercito Estrada said the government must prioritize the move.
During a hearing conducted by the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development on Thursday, the committee said the unabated increase in the prices of basic commodities, coupled with the ongoing increases in deregulated oil and automatic adjustments in rates of utilities such as electricity and water, among others, has continuously brought to the fore the perennial problem of the Filipino families, especially minimum wage earners who subsist on inadequate income.
A study conducted by an independent research organization showed that the minimum wage has not improved compared to the cost of living in the last decade.
Based on records of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), the cost of living for a family of six in the National Capital Region (NCR) is around P15,300 a month or a P510 per day.
The present minimum wage however is only P250 a day for non-agricultural workers and an even at a lower amount of P213 for agricultural workers. The gap therefore between the minimum wage and cost of living ranges from a low of P260 to a high of P297.
Senate Bill (SB) 2030 sponsored by Estrada cites the need to increase a P100 across-the-board which aims to partially restore the lost purchasing power in real value of the workers wage over the last decade and would somehow close the gap between the income of minimum wage earners and the daily-cost-of living.
But the proposed wage hike, as demanded by the workers, would bring wages to within the 61 percent to 68 percent cost of living estimates.
Estrada said although the proposed P100 hike is still insufficient, it is substantial enough to raise the quality of life of 16 million workers and their dependents.
"It is the duty of the government to give rational and effective solution to the various economic predicaments of our country to keep its poor citizens off the streets and to partially fill the empty bellies of more than 40 percent of the populace" Estrada said.
"The demand for wage hike is a socio-economic concern that should be immediately addressed," he said.
Those present in the hearing were Labor Undersecretary Romeo Lagman, Trade Undersecretary Thomas Aquino, Director Dennis Arroyo of the National Economic and Development Authority, Director Esther Guirao of the National Wages Productivity Commission, Donald Dee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Wilson Wy Tiu of the labor committee of Federation of Philippine Industry (FPI), FPI executive vice president Edison Co Seteng, Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop), Elmer Labog of Kilusang Mayo Uno and Joshua Mata of the Alliance of Progressive Labor.
Ortiz-Luis said an estimated 1.3 million employees will likely lose their jobs in the next three years should a P100 wage increase materialize.
The same position was expressed by Tiu and Donald Dee who maintained that the economy "is not doing well and a new salary increase might affect several companies."
Dee said if the government will "rock the boat" at this point in time, the business sectors will have no other choice "but to dance with the tune and that means they have to close their businesses."
But this was countered by Labog and Mata who said that workers deserve the "long overdue wage increase".
Meanwhile, administration and opposition members of the House of Representatives urged the Senate to immediately pass the wage increase bill and not to allow themselves to be swayed by a number of business groups' threat that many investors would be forced to close shop and millions of Filipinos will be out of their jobs if the measure is approved.
Representative Antonio Alvarez of Palawan said if the Senate could not really pass the pending across-the-board wage increase, then it should pass the bill that would increase personal income tax deductions.
Some senators, according to Alvarez, are not keen on passing their own version of the wage increase bill, a position that would imperil the hope of millions of the country's wage earners to get an increase in their take-home pay.
"We hope that the senate will deliberate quickly and favorably on the wage hike bill. Business groups have always had their say and their way on this issue, it's long overdue that the stand and demand of workers be prioritized and responded to," said Anakpawis party-list Representative Crispin Beltran, the principal author of the wage increase bill.
Both Alvarez and Beltran said the wage earners are in serious need of a substantial wage increase because in the last five years, prices of commodities and rates of basic services like water, transportation and electricity have steadily gone up.
Because of that, they have added, the way of life of majority of Filipino workers have consistently deteriorated, and the best way to remedy this is pulling wages up.
But Alvarez added if the Senate could not agree with the House, then the Senate should instead pass the tax break bill, which they have been sitting on for the past eight months.
House Bill 5296 proposes to hike the tax exemptions of a single taxpayer from P20,000to P30,000; from P25,000 to P37,000 for a head of a family; from P32,000 to P48,000 for each spouse; and from P8,000 to P12,000 each for a maximum of four dependents.
It also proposes a reduction on tax rate brackets from seven to six.
"If we approve this bill, it would translate to an additional disposable income of about P4,100 a month for a family. It will increase their purchasing power without putting a stain on the tight payroll or small businesses," Alvarez said.
Beltran, for his part, it would be better that the Senate would pass the "pro-workers bills". He appealed to the Senate to approve the legislated wage increase bill before the 13th Congress ends, and leave to the President the last say.
In a related development, the Partido ng Manggagawa threatened to campaign against reelectionist senators who would go against the approval of the wage hike bill.
Representative Renato Magtubo said the public should boycott reelectionist senators who would not support the "pro-people, pro-worker bills" like the wage hike. (CPB/DBP/Sunnex)
